


when Yuuri gets that look in his eyes

by jisatsumania



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Birthday, Christmas Fluff, M/M, Moscow, Relationship Discussions, Romance, Some angst, post-end of s1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 17:56:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9083179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jisatsumania/pseuds/jisatsumania
Summary: The following day after arriving in Moscow, Yuuri seems to have something in mind and Viktor looks back on their relationship.





	

 

  Viktor had been reluctant when Yuuri promptly told him to get dressed as he was just stepping out of the shower, towel wrapped around his waist and fog rising to the ceiling beneath the bathroom lights behind him. 

 

  He did, sleep still swimming in his eyes - pulled out some clothes from the unpacked suitcase in the hallway, where they'd been abandoned, anxious but excited by the confidence he read on Yuuri's face.

 

  They'd arrived in Moscow the previous night and slept through the day, enjoying the quietness and cuddling in bed, now that the stress of the Grand Prix was over. Neither of them wished to think beyond the holidays and spending some much deserved free time together.

 

  The lobby of the hotel was busy. Guests with snow on their shoulders and clinging to their heavy boots as they walked in, red-faced from the cold and satisfied to have reached their destinations, crowded the front desk and the three elevators.

 

  With Yuuri's arm around his and tugging at him slightly, they walked outside. A taxi waited for them.

 

            "Finally, you took ages!" Yurio raged from the front seat and quickly gave directions to the driver in Russian.

 

  They drove through a few emptier looking streets until they got caught up in traffic on a main boulevard and Yurio muttered heated words under his breath, which in turn made Yuuri laugh and let his head fall on Viktor's shoulder. Their hands entwined in the darkness of the backseat, the smell of the younger man next to him made him wonder why they had to rush out of the comfort of the hotel room so suddenly. But he let himself sink into the gesture of intimacy. The radio in the car blared out some commentary over an uninterrupted wave of static noise and the driver kept chewing on something rather loudly and coughing. He brushed his lips to the top of Yuuri's forehead and smiled when it made him look up, a glint in his black eyes.

 

  Bundled up in his coat, with Viktor's chest against him, he wiped the window with his sleeve and stared out. Bright, colourful lights hung on the side of the street, above the streetlights and trees, branches enveloped in ice and snow. As the car drove by, the lights seemed to turn into golden and red glowing strings. It made him a tiny bit dizzy.

 

  In front of the shops, snow was being shovelled. Yuuri had never seen so much snow before. The car passed by a closed off area where little huts covered in snow and tacky decorations sold various warm, sweet snacks and warm wine. A tall Christmas tree, covered in silver lights, towered in the centre of the market. He wondered if there were things Viktor chose not to tell him when they lay close and talked for hours and he turned his head and sighed, face haunted by some strange longing.

 

  It was still unbelievable, waking up to those gleaming blue eyes in the early morning.

 

  He didn't now how to handle people crying in front of him, much less Yuuri but that night in the dimness of their shared room in Barcelona, he'd been the one whose eyes stung, anger or sadness, he didn't know. Categorizing seemed imprecise and too vast. The last few days had been filled with anxiousness for the upcoming competition but hadn't their relationship grown? Maybe he'd felt helpless, his back against the window, against the lit up city and the world. He wondered how Yuuri saw him now.

 

  Hair dripping and wet cheeks, the restlessness in his chest told him he was scared. He wondered if those tears streaming down his cheeks scared Yuuri as much as they stared him. What was he talking about, moving his mouth like he knew things before Viktor had kissed him.

 

  Cold, that's how that ring had felt on his finger. It was there, too, humble and beautiful on Yuuri's. He didn't know what he was saying.

 

  So why was he clutching Yuuri's hand like this?

 

  Just now when the doors had opened and they stumbled into a shadowy room and confetti blew up everywhere, making him close his eyes when the light flooded them. _Happy birthday_ , voices sang loud and mixed together in Viktor's ears, and Yuuri wrapped his arms around his neck.

 

  And his breath hitched in his throat the same way it had in the middle of that silly after party, when slurred words of begging made his mind stir. Those eyes that had kept him up at night.

 

  The confusion when Yuuri had turned away decisively from him at the airport after his alleged defeat.

 

  There was a multitude of gifts in shiny, intricate paper on a table. Boxes full of things Viktor didn't need but accepted with a smile. The kind of smile that made people around the world take a moment from their day to glimpse at the cover of some sports' magazine.

 

  Was he intimidated by how Yuuri seemed to slowly find himself? By how he'd started looking others in the face when having a perhaps bothersome conversation, how he walked with confidence and brushed his black hair away from his eyes.

 

  Viktor stood amazed at how Chris had flown in from Switzerland, Phichit from Thailand, along with the others, how they made the trip to be here, celebrating in a lounge, wearing ugly sweaters and taking turns at tasting traditional Russian Christmas dishes. And that sneaky gaze he received from across the room, Yuuri checking on how he was feeling, if he was enjoying himself. Searching for some clue in Viktor's behaviour. Clutching the champagne glass in his hand, the warmth in his chest told him he wasn't yet used to having someone look at him like _that._

 

  A look seemingly full of unconditional adoration, soft but with a newly acquired trace of dauntingness.

 

            "You didn't have to go through all that trouble of planning everything. Making these guys fly out all the way to Moscow."

 

  It had stopped snowing and the sky was clear. The cold, however, was awfully crisp and it bit at their noses and cheeks.

 

            "I managed to surprise you, didn't I, Viktor?"

 

  He pulled him closer by the elbow and kissed his cheek. Yuuri blushed and turned away, still feeling the sensation of brief warmth on his face, there were still so many people walking around even though it was nearly morning.

 

  Cars drove by slowly and honked at each other, as a result the traffic advanced with even more difficulty. Smoke rose up into the air. The city was very much awake in the freezing darkness.

 

  Viktor wanted Yuuri to look at him like that no matter what. No matter if he was back on the ice or on the side cheering on. He was taken by surprise that night, when he realized Yuuri had thought of himself as selfish, sitting on that bed in loose clothes, small and avoiding eye contact. He thought he'd been keeping him from doing what he loved.

 

            "You always manage to surprise me, Yuuri." Viktor's voice sounded clear and sharp, body turned away from the busy streets, gazing down. The soft lines around his eyes became slightly visible when he smiled and his face partly shadowed, leaving the yellow light shifting over one of his eyes. Icy blue. "After the holidays, we'll work on you surprising the whole world in the next Grand Prix. You've already come so far."

 

            "That's only because of you."

 

            "No."

 

  They were crossing a bridge. The water underneath was frozen solid and a thick layer of snow covered it. It was like the river had never been there. Footprints and sleigh marks seemed fresh.

 

            "You reinvented me. I skated for you."

 

           "Yuuri," Viktor ungloved his hand and took Yuuri's cold one. He entwined their fingers and stuck both of them into the pocket of his coat. "I only dragged out the strength that was already hiding inside you. And I hope that by returning I can rise up to your expectations and be there for you. I don't want to see this as me feeling the need to reaffirm myself in front of other skaters," Yuuri parted his lips to speak, "because I'm already doing that through you. It's just the movement on the ice, the tightening in your muscles before you're about to jump and the images and feelings creating sequences that combine with music, I feel I can offer better support if I keep improving myself."

 

  The noise of the crowded downtown was left behind, only a lingering murmur in the distance, as they walked away. Viktor's thoughts were glazed over by the effect of the few drinks he'd had and the state of content he was in, showed on his face and in the way he didn't rush to get back. He ran his fingers over Yuuri's, tracing the details he already knew by heart in his mind. 

 

  Over the river, the sky was fading into dark blue.

 

            "When I told you I wanted us to end after the Grand Prix, I did think I was holding you back but Viktor, would you stay with me even if, say I retired or if you weren't my coach or-"

 

  He thought back when they'd exchanged rings in Barcelona and Yuuri had that look of confusion melting in his eyes and wasn't sure what it meant but knew it would somehow tie Viktor to him. And Viktor drank up that shatteringly beautiful sight in front of him.

 

            "You know what's funny? It's how unexpected it is, when someone waltzes into your life just like that. Remember when we went through those pictures from the after party? When I saw you dancing there, just having fun and enticing everyone to join with your attitude, I was smitten."

 

  The hotel was in sight now and Yuuri hid his face in his scarf, his nose grazing numbly against the material, listening and looking at the brightening sky above. The paleness grew steadily. He felt the typical, dull buzz of a headache around his eyes, he'd wake up with one for sure.

 

            "We don't choose how it happens. And when you gave me that ring, I thought it meant more than me just being your coach or you winning gold."

 

  The man at the desk was reading sleepily in a chair. Except for a few people sat on couches in another area, talking, the lobby was silent.

 

            "I don't want you with no one else, Viktor." Yuuri said when they were alone in the elevator.

 

  And when Viktor swiped the magnetic card and unlocked the door, Yuuri pushed him inside, slammed the door shut and as the light seeping in from the hallway formed a fleeting shape on the ceiling and disappeared, he tied his fingers in Viktor's collar and tugged, kissing him, the aftertaste of alcohol on his tongue as they leaned against each other with the chill of the winter in their hair and around their limbs.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I'll try to finish writing the additional part soon. 
> 
> (so hyped for the second season, amg!)


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